Saturday 14 February 2015 19.04 EST
First published on Friday 13 February 2015 19.04 EST

The fate of Kate Smurthwaite’s comedy show, cancelled by Goldsmith’s College in London last month (“What could be more absurd than censorship on campus”, Nick Cohen, Comment) is part of a worrying pattern of intimidation and silencing of individuals whose views are deemed “transphobic” or “whorephobic”. Most of the people so labelled are feminists or pro-feminist men, some have experience in the sex industry, some are transgender.

Last month, there were calls for the Cambridge Union to withdraw a speaking invitation to Germaine Greer; then the Green party came under pressure to repudiate the philosophy lecturer Rupert Read after he questioned the arguments put forward by some trans-activists. The feminist activist and writer Julie Bindel has been “no-platformed” by the National Union of Students for several years.

“No platforming” used to be a tactic used against self-proclaimed fascists and Holocaust-deniers. But today it is being used to prevent the expression of feminist arguments critical of the sex industry and of some demands made by trans activists. The feminists who hold these views have never advocated or engaged in violence against any group of people. Yet it is argued that the mere presence of anyone said to hold those views is a threat to a protected minority group’s safety.

You do not have to agree with the views that are being silenced to find these tactics illiberal and undemocratic. Universities have a particular responsibility to resist this kind of bullying. We call on universities and other organisations to stand up to attempts at intimidation and affirm their support for the basic principles of democratic political exchange.

Beatrix Campbell

Lynne Alderson

Ruth Ahnert

Dr Lucy Allen

Nimko Ali

Dr Kerri Andrews

Lisa Appignanesi

Prof. John Barrell

Prof Mary Beard

Melissa Benn

Rosa Bennathan

Katie Beswick

Dr Sue Black

Prof Jenny Bourne Taylor

Alison Boydell

Fiona Broadfoot

Paul Burston

Dianne Butterworth

Prof Deborah Cameron

Ivy Cameron

Dr Rosie Campbell

Cynthia Cockburn

Anna Coote

Caroline Criado-Perez

Hannah Curtis

Dr Liz Davies

Kim Darwood

Dr Sukhwant Dhaliwal

Jane Diblin

Sarah Ditum

Stella Duffy

Dr Victoria Dutchman-Smith

Louise Evan-Wong

Dr Katharine Edgar

Jayne Egerton

Carol Fox

Kim Graham

Rahila Gupta

Prof Catherine Hall

Prof Jalna Hanmer

Jeremy Hardy

Dr James Harrison

Heather Harvey

Lorrie Hearts

Prof Nicholas Hewitt

Dr Rachel Hewitt

Deborah Hyde

Bridget Irving

Susan Jack

Darren Johnson MLA

Claire Jones

Jane Clare Jones

Judith Jones

Prof Liz Kelly

Karen Hanna Kruzycka

Jenny Landreth

Claire Lazarus

Kate Leigh

Prof Alison Light

Prof Ruth Lister

Dr Julia Long

Sonia Long

Prof Joni Lovenduski

David Lusted

Dr Samantha Lyle

Shakila Maan

Dr Finn Mackay

Nancy Mackeith

Rosina Mcrae

Sarah Maguire

Dr Sarah Mansfield

Elizabeth Mansfield

Heather McRobie

Gia Milinovich

Lucinda Montefiore

Dr Helen Mott

Hannah Mudge

Sonali Naik

Dr Peter Newbon

Jill Nicholls

Sian Norris

Juliet Oosthuysen

Sue O’Sullivan

Femi Otitoju

Ursula Owen

Sue Parrish

Pragna Patel

Louise Pennington

Cat Peters

Prof Jill Radford

Dale Rapley

Dr Rebecca Reilly-Cooper

Dr Victoria Rimell

Roweena Russell

Dr Adam Rutherford

Gita Sahgal

Dr Joan Scanlon

Sandhya Sharma

Vanessa Shaw

Dr Ben Schiller

Prof Sophie Scott

Shelley Silas

Karen Ingala Smith

Prof Francesca Stavrakopoulou

Sian Steans

Mary-Ann Stephenson

Prof Ann Stewart

Marina Strinkovsky

Southall Black Sisters

Julka Szymanska

Felicity Tarnell

Peter Tatchell

Steve Trafford

Dr Sue Tate

Dr Matthew Taunton

Lisa-Marie Taylor

Helen Thompson

Dr Megan Todd

Janet Veitch

Judith Vidal-Hall

Nicky Wallace

Dr Jim Walsh

Liz Waterhouse

Prof Nicole Westmarland

Lisa Whelan

Dr Michael Whitworth

Jim Wild

Dr Heather Williams

Clair Wills

Prof Alan Winfield

Harriet Wistrich

Miranda Yardley

The need to help suicidal men

In 1997, when my son, Stuart, killed himself aged 27, I suddenly became aware that almost everyone I spoke to seemed to have been affected by suicide or known someone who had been (“Fragility of the strong, silent male”, Comment).

In the late 90s, there was a flurry of concern about the suicides of young men and Calm was founded not long after this. The Samaritans were already established for people with the assertiveness to seek help for suicidal feelings. Councils started to prepare suicide strategies and Mental Health First Aid is providing as many people as possible with the skills to help.

People who had known Stuart set up the Stuart Low Trust . Since 2001, we have been tackling the social isolation that can lead to suicide, providing activities that welcome people on the receiving end of racism, poverty, xenophobia, disability hate crime and the general climate of thought that mental ill health means that someone is dangerous and best avoided. Many might like to follow Anthony Clare’s advice to “find meaning and fulfilment ... in love, family and personal relationships”, but these options are beyond their reach.

Virginia Low

London N1

SNP’s policy of silence

After years of the SNP government in Scotland, voters in hugely deprived areas of Glasgow have apparently decided to switch from Labour to…SNP! Kevin McKenna (“In the poor heart of Glasgow, political loyalties melt away”, News) says this is because they are tired of Labour’s “broken promises and infidelity”. He goes on to quote figures that demonstrate the appalling differences in life expectancy, and educational and health outcomes between the most and least deprived areas of Scotland. The best he can offer from the current SNP administration’s point of view is that their recently retired chief medical officer “is optimistic that the Scottish government is beginning to grasp” the need for “early intervention strategies”.

Last week, it was revealed that the interest in parties such as Ukip, the SNP and Greens was greatly inflated by social media bandwagons. The SNP’s response is to maintain their long-term policy of silence on the reality of issues in Scotland and manufacture a phoney referendum mark 2, led by Salmond, in Westminster.

Carolyn Kirton

Aberdeen

Vitalise vegans with vitamins

You ask: “Is this the week that veganism finally came of age?” (“From Beyoncé to the Baftas, vegan culture gets star status”, News). Vegans avoid foods of animal origin and it is true that you can get almost all of the nutrients you need in this way. The crucial exception is vitamin B12, required for the production of red blood cells. Its lack causes pernicious anaemia. The Vegan Society’s website does make a clear statement that all vegans should take a vitamin B12 supplement .

Dr Brian Curwain

Former Chair of Science Committee

Royal Pharmaceutical Society

A boo and a hiss for Barbara

Oh, Barbara Ellen, for once I’m disappointed in your column with your views on Wolf Hall (“Good news if you can’t sleep – Wolf Hall is on next”Comment). My friends and I were riveted by the Tudoresque atmosphere, understated acting, dim candlelight and stunning tableaux. And if you had a problem with the diction, either turn up the sound or put on the subtitles and enjoy something magnificently different.